Naucalpan, officially Naucalpan de Juárez, is one of 125
municipalities
A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate.
The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...
located just northwest of
Mexico City
Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital and largest city of Mexico, and the most populous city in North America. One of the world's alpha cities, it is located in the Valley o ...
in the adjoining
State of Mexico
The State of Mexico ( es, Estado de México; ), officially just Mexico ( es, México), is one of the 32 federal entities of the United Mexican States. Commonly known as Edomex (from ) to distinguish it from the name of the whole country, it is ...
. The
municipal seat
A municipal seat or ''cabecera municipal'' is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a municipality or civil parish with other villes or towns subordinated. The term is used in Brazil, Colombia,Nahuatl
Nahuatl (; ), Aztec, or Mexicano is a language or, by some definitions, a group of languages of the Uto-Aztecan language family. Varieties of Nahuatl are spoken by about Nahua peoples, most of whom live mainly in Central Mexico and have smaller ...
and means "place of the four neighborhoods" or "four houses." Juárez was added to the official name in 1874 in honor of
Benito Juárez
Benito Pablo Juárez García (; 21 March 1806 – 18 July 1872) was a Liberalism in Mexico, Mexican liberal politician and lawyer who served as the 26th president of Mexico from 1858 until his death in office in 1872. As a Zapotec peoples, Zapo ...
. The history of the area begins with the Tlatilica who settled on the edges of the Hondo River between 1700 and 600 B.C.E., but it was the
Mexica
The Mexica (Nahuatl: , ;''Nahuatl Dictionary.'' (1990). Wired Humanities Project. University of Oregon. Retrieved August 29, 2012, frolink/ref> singular ) were a Nahuatl-speaking indigenous people of the Valley of Mexico who were the rulers of ...
who gave it its current name when they dominated it from the 15th century until the Spanish conquest of the Mexica Empire. Naucalpan claims to be the area where
Hernán Cortés
Hernán Cortés de Monroy y Pizarro Altamirano, 1st Marquess of the Valley of Oaxaca (; ; 1485 – December 2, 1547) was a Spanish ''conquistador'' who led an expedition that caused the fall of the Aztec Empire and brought large portions of w ...
Tenochtitlan
, ; es, Tenochtitlan also known as Mexico-Tenochtitlan, ; es, México-Tenochtitlan was a large Mexican in what is now the historic center of Mexico City. The exact date of the founding of the city is unclear. The date 13 March 1325 was ...
in 1520, but this is disputed. It is the home of the
Virgin of Los Remedios
The Virgin of Los Remedios ( es, La Virgen de los Remedios) or Our Lady of Los Remedios ( pt, Nossa Senhora dos Remédios, es, Nuestra Señora de los Remedios) is a title of the Virgin Mary developed by the Trinitarian Order, founded in the lat ...
, a small image of the
Virgin Mary
Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Joseph and the mother o ...
which is strongly associated with the Conquest and is said to have been left here.
Today, the city of Naucalpan is actually larger than the municipality itself, with part of it extending into neighboring Huixquilucan Municipality, although there are other towns in within the municipality of Naucalpan which are outside the city of Naucalpan. It is a major center of industry in Mexico. It is, however, best known as the location of
Ciudad Satélite
Ciudad Satélite (), commonly known as Satélite, is a Greater Mexico City upper middle class suburban area located in Naucalpan, State of Mexico. Officially, the name corresponds exclusively to the homonym neighborhood, Ciudad Satélite, found ...
, a development from the 1960s and the site of the Toreo de Cuatro Caminos
bullring
A bullring is an arena where bullfighting is performed. Bullrings are often associated with the Iberian Peninsula, but they can also be found through Iberian America and in a few Spanish and Portuguese ex-colonies in Africa. Bullrings are o ...
, which was demolished in the 2010s to build the
Toreo Parque Central
Toreo Parque Central (literally, "Central Park Bullring") is a mixed-use development in Naucalpan, State of Mexico, Greater Mexico City. It has an enclosed shopping center named Plaza Toreo and it was built on the site of the former bullring Toreo ...
mixed-use development. The only unurbanized areas of the municipality are the
Los Remedios National Park
Los Remedios National Park is a national park in Mexico, located in the far west of the municipality of Naucalpan in Mexico State, just northwest of Mexico City. The park was established by federal decree in 1938 with an area of . Within its bord ...
and a number of ''
ejido
An ''ejido'' (, from Latin ''exitum'') is an area of communal land used for agriculture in which community members have usufruct rights rather than ownership rights to land, which in Mexico is held by the Mexican state. People awarded ejidos in ...
s'', but the lack of housing has put serious pressure on these areas.
History
The
Valley of Mexico
The Valley of Mexico ( es, Valle de México) is a highlands plateau in central Mexico roughly coterminous with present-day Mexico City and the eastern half of the State of Mexico. Surrounded by mountains and volcanoes, the Valley of Mexico wa ...
, of which Naucalpan is a part, has been inhabited by humans for over 20,000 years. The history of Naucalpan begins with a group called the Tlatilca who settled on the edges of the Hondo River between 1700 and 600 BCE, in what is now modern Nacaulpan, Totolinga and Los Cuartos. During the Preclassic period (1400 to 1300 BCE) a group of
Olmec
The Olmecs () were the earliest known major Mesoamerican civilization. Following a progressive development in Soconusco, they occupied the tropical lowlands of the modern-day Mexican states of Veracruz and Tabasco. It has been speculated that t ...
s arrived and had significant influence on the dominion of Tlatilca. Later, Tlatilca was also heavily influenced by the
Teotihuacan
Teotihuacan (Spanish language, Spanish: ''Teotihuacán'') (; ) is an ancient Mesoamerican city located in a sub-valley of the Valley of Mexico, which is located in the State of Mexico, northeast of modern-day Mexico City. Teotihuacan is ...
civilization. Between 1000 and 1200 CE the
Chichimeca
Chichimeca () is the name that the Nahua peoples of Mexico generically applied to nomadic and semi-nomadic peoples who were established in present-day Bajio region of Mexico. Chichimeca carried the meaning as the Roman term "barbarian" that des ...
s conquered the Tlatlica and deposed their monarchy. The Pyramid del Conde was built during this time, located in what is now the El Conde neighborhood. Later in the pre-Hispanic period, the area was governed by
Tlacopan
Tlacopan, also called Tacuba, was a Tepanec / Mexica altepetl on the western shore of Lake Texcoco. The site is today the neighborhood of Tacuba, in Mexico City.
Etymology
The name comes from Classical Nahuatl ''tlacōtl'', "stem" or "rod" and ...
(Tacuba) and became ethnically dominated by the
Otomi
The Otomi (; es, Otomí ) are an indigenous people of Mexico inhabiting the central Mexican Plateau (Altiplano) region.
The Otomi are an indigenous people of Mexico who inhabit a discontinuous territory in central Mexico. They are linguisticall ...
. Starting from 1428, the area was under the dominion of Tepanece de Atzcapotzalco, which was later conquered by the
Aztec Triple Alliance
The Aztec Empire or the Triple Alliance ( nci, Ēxcān Tlahtōlōyān, jéːʃkaːn̥ t͡ɬaʔtoːˈlóːjaːn̥ was an alliance of three Nahua city-states: , , and . These three city-states ruled that area in and around the Valley of Mexico ...
, who gave it the name of Naucalpan.
On 30 June 1520, Hernán Cortés fled Tenochtitlan toward what is now Naucalpan. According to legend, he wept under a
Montezuma Cypress
''Taxodium mucronatum'', commonly known as Montezuma bald cypress, Montezuma cypress, or ahuehuete, is a species of '' Taxodium'' that is primarily native to Mexico and Guatemala, with a few populations in the southwestern United States. Ahuehue ...
tree, which is believed by some to be located at the foot of the Otocampulco Mountain here. This is called the " Noche Triste" or "Night of Sorrows". There is dispute as to whether this tree is located here or in Popotla. Another legend states that during the flight of the Spanish, an image of the Virgin Mary was left under a maguey plant, where the Sanctuary of Los Remedios is today.
In 1521, the fall of Tenochtitlan brought the area under Spanish control. Hernán Cortés conceded governorship of this area to Isabel Moctezuma and Alonso de Grado, naming it San Bartholome Naucalpan. Evangelization of the native peoples was carried out by the
Franciscans
, image = FrancescoCoA PioM.svg
, image_size = 200px
, caption = A cross, Christ's arm and Saint Francis's arm, a universal symbol of the Franciscans
, abbreviation = OFM
, predecessor =
, ...
who built the monastery of San Gabriel de Tacuba and a number of historic churches such as the Church of San Francisco de Assisi, Church of the Inmaculada Concepcion and the Church of Los Remedios. In 1574, the Temple of San Bartolome Naucalpan was built, with the towers constructed later in 1629. The area was important in colonial times for the mining of building stone, sand and gravel which was used for many constructions in Mexico City including the
Mexico City Metropolitan Cathedral
The Metropolitan Cathedral of the Assumption of the Most Blessed Virgin Mary into Heaven ( es, Catedral Metropolitana de la Asunción de la Bienaventurada Virgen María a los cielos) is the cathedral church of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Mex ...
and the
National Palace Buildings called National Palace include:
* National Palace (Dominican Republic), in Santo Domingo
*National Palace (El Salvador), in San Salvador
*National Palace (Ethiopia), in Addis Ababa; also known as the Jubilee Palace
* National Palace (Guate ...
.
In 1810, the Virgin of the Remedios was brought here from the Mexico City Cathedral, dressed as a general. She was proclaimed as a patroness of Spain and the "guardian of the Spanish Army." Locally, she was called a "gachupina" (slang word for Spaniard). She eventually became the patroness of Naucalpan, with 450th anniversary of her finding celebrated in 1990. Her sanctuary was built in 1875.
In 1821, brothers Joaquin and Bernardo Miramín founded the newspaper "Diario Militar." One of the writers for this paper was
José Joaquín Fernández de Lizardi
José Joaquín Fernández de Lizardi (November 15, 1776 – June 21, 1827), Mexican writer and political journalist, best known as the author of ''El Periquillo Sarniento'' (1816), translated as ''The Mangy Parrot'' in English, reputed to be the f ...
, popularly known as "El Pensador Mexicano" (The Mexican Thinker) .
The town remained a dependency of
Tlalnepantla
Tlalnepantla de Baz is one of 125 municipalities of the state of Mexico, north of Mexico City. The municipal seat and largest city in the municipality is the city of Tlalnepantla. ''Tlalnepantla'' comes from the Náhuatl words ''tlalli'' (land) ...
for much of the 19th century even though it had become an independent municipality in 1826. Industrialization began here with the founding of the Hilados and Tejidos de Rio Hondo factory, inaugurated by Benito Juarez in 1869. In 1899, the territory of Santa Cruz del Monte was added to the municipality. During the
Mexican Revolution
The Mexican Revolution ( es, Revolución Mexicana) was an extended sequence of armed regional conflicts in Mexico from approximately 1910 to 1920. It has been called "the defining event of modern Mexican history". It resulted in the destruction ...
, Zapatista leaders Rafael Carrillo and Roman Diaz operated in the nearby Chimalpa mountains against federal forces.
The Toreo de Cuatro Caminos was inaugurated in 1947. It was the icon of the city for many years, as well as the symbol of Naucalpan's Metro station, Cuatro Caminos. The building was torn down in 2009 to make way for a commercial complex.
Naucalpan was officially declared a city in 1957, and the founding of
Ciudad Satélite
Ciudad Satélite (), commonly known as Satélite, is a Greater Mexico City upper middle class suburban area located in Naucalpan, State of Mexico. Officially, the name corresponds exclusively to the homonym neighborhood, Ciudad Satélite, found ...
occurred in the same year. The project was completed in 1963. Its five signature towers were designed by
Luis Barragán
Luis Ramiro Barragán Morfín (March 9, 1902 – November 22, 1988) was a Mexican architect and engineer. His work has influenced contemporary architects visually and conceptually. Barragán's buildings are frequently visited by international ...
and Matias Goeritz. By 1975, Naucalpan had become one of the most industrialized cities in Mexico.
The city
The city of Naucalpan extends into neighboring Huixquilucan Municipality. At the 2010 census its total population was 913,681 inhabitants, with 792,211 of these in Naucalpan Municipality and 121,470 in Huixquilucan Municipality. Since cities, or localities, have no separate government, the two parts are governed from their respective municipalities. Within Naucalpan Municipality only the Los Remedios National Park and several ejidos remaining mostly unurbanized. Over 95% of the municipality's population lives in the city proper.2010 census tables: INEGI The municipality consists of 119 neighborhoods in the city proper, 18 small villages, 71 residential developments and two rural housing developments. Because of the growth of its industry, Naucalpan is one of the most important municipalities in the country. Products manufactured here include foodstuffs, drinks, tobacco, clothing and textiles, wood products and paper, metals and chemicals. Industrial parks include Alce Blanco, Atoto, Industrial Naucalpan, La Perla and Tlatilco.
The municipality is part of
Greater Mexico City
Greater Mexico City refers to the conurbation around Mexico City, officially called Metropolitan Area of the Valley of Mexico ( es, Zona metropolitana del Valle de México). It encompasses Mexico City itself and 60 adjacent municipalities of the S ...
and in the Valley of Mexico, sharing the air quality and other environmental problems that are prevalent in this region. Naucalpan already participates in the "
Hoy No Circula
Hoy No Circula (literally in Spanish: "today our cardoes not circulate", known as No-drive days) is the name of an environmental program intended to improve the air quality of Mexico City. A similar coordinated program operates within the State ...
" program, which restricts the use of private automobiles in Mexico City and some adjoining areas during the week and is considering extending restrictions to Saturdays as well. Its subsoil is considered to be gravely polluted, mostly due to the Bordo Poniento landfill and the sinking of the subsoil due to the over pumping of groundwater and the dumping of untreated wastewater. In addition, many small businesses such as brick making operations, public restrooms and restaurants flagrantly violate sanitation and environmental laws. However, automobiles account for 70% of the air pollution. Stronger environmental regulations have been enacted and enforced, but this has led to the abandonment of the municipality by larger industries who have relocated to the north and west. Over 200 companies have relocated from here and neighboring municipalities Tlalnepantla and
Ecatepec
Ecatepec (), officially Ecatepec de Morelos, is a municipality in the central Mexican state of Mexico, and is situated in the north part of the greater Mexico City urban area. The municipal seat is San Cristóbal Ecatepec.
The city of Ecatepec i ...
. Industries which have left Naucalpan include metals, cement, glass-works and others that use a large quantity of energy. About twenty percent of manufacturing facilities have closed their doors and six industrial parks are empty. In addition to environmental regulation, other actors behind this rising land and rental prices, economic slowdown and competition from Asia.
Several major roadways pass through the city and municipality, which connect the Mexico City area to parts north and west, as well as other parts of the metropolitan area. The northern section of the
Anillo Periférico
The Anillo Periférico (Spanish for ''peripheral ring'') is the outer beltway of Mexico City.
The ''Periferico'' was originally planned by architect Carlos Contreras as early as 1925, together with other major roads such as the Viaducto Mig ...
passes through Ciudad Satélite. There have been plans to add a second level to this roadway, but local residents have been working against it. One of the concerns is that the new roadway will damage the nearby Torres de Satélite. The recently built Viaducto Bicentenario highway, linking Mexico City with western Mexico State passes through Naucalpan and was the first section to begin operations. This section connects the
Lomas Verdes
Lomas Verdes is an upper-middle-class neighborhood located in the north of Mexico City. The community was developed in the late 1960s and is near Ciudad Satélite (which was founded in 1957). Lomas Verdes means "Green Hills" in Spanish, as the te ...
section with Cuatro Caminos at the border of Mexico City. The construction of these roadways is projected to make changes in the urban landscape of the city, attracting projects such as office buildings and commercial centers. A number of projects are already in the works. The goal is to build areas here similar to Santa Fe and Interlomas. Naucalpan is strongly dependent on cars and other motorized transportation. Efforts have been made to promote bicycle use such as bike paths and free bicycle loans, but they have not been successful.
One of the best-known areas of Naucalpan is Ciudad Satélite with its signature Torres de Satélite sculpture. Ciudad Satélite was one of a number of large scale projects undertaken by the federal government in the Mexico City area in the 1950s and 1960s, along with the Conjunto Habitacional de Tlaltelolco and the Ciudad Universitaria. From the late 1940s to early 1950s, Mexico City began to grow towards the northern limits of the Federal District, and compelling urbanization into adjoining Mexico State. One of the projects conceived for the suburban zone of Naucalpan was a development called Ciudad Satélite. The project was headed by architect Luis Barragán in 1958 and financially backed the Banco Internacional Hipotecario. The city's design and coordination was supervised by architect
Mario Pani
Mario Pani Darqui (March 29, 1911 – February 23, 1993) was a famous Mexican architect and urbanist. He was one of the most active urbanists under the Mexican Miracle, and gave form to a good part of the urban appearance of Mexico City, with ...
. It was designed to be a suburban community with a "green corridor" (highway lined by parks) connecting it to Mexico City proper. Attractive land prices created a boom market soon after the first units were sold in the mid 1960s, and over the next ten years, the green corridor disappeared. In addition to being a major bedroom community, it has been a major shopping district since the opening of the Centro Comercial Satélite in 1962.
The Torres de Satélite were constructed by architects Luis Barragan and Matias Goeritz with the collaboration of painter
Jesús Reyes Ferreira Jesús Reyes Ferreira, (1880-1977) born José de Jesús Benjamín Buenaventura de los Reyes y Ferreira and also known as Chucho Reyes, was a self-taught artist and antiques/art collector and vendor. Reyes Ferreira began painting on crêpe paper, a d ...
in the mid 20th century. The five sculptures form prisms that range in height from . They are located in the traffic circle of one of the busiest roads in the State of Mexico. They were constructed to be symbols of the vanguard of world class design in Mexico and as a "welcome" of the expansion of Greater Mexico City to Naucalpan. The Torres de Satélite have been catalogued by
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...
as architectural heritage.
The second best-known landmark in Naucalpan was recently demolished. The Toreo de Cuatro Caminos (lit. the Bullring of the Four Roads) was built in the 1940s in what was a hacienda. Over the years, the city built up and the area around the bullring became a major local transportation hub. The northwest end of the Mexico City Metro Line 2 ends here, at a large bus station which is only a couple of blocks from the Toreo. At the Toreo itself, fifteen local bus routes as well as buses to
Toluca
Toluca , officially Toluca de Lerdo , is the States of Mexico, state capital of the State of Mexico as well as the seat of the Municipality of Toluca. With a population of 910,608 as of the 2020 census, Toluca is the fifth most populous city in M ...
and other points west converge here. These buses clog the surrounding streets of Ingenieros Militares, Rodolfo Gaona and San Mateo. The domed roof of this bullring was a symbol of the city for many years, but in 2009, the demolition of this building began to make way for a commercial complex. Most of the bus routes have been relocated for the demolition and reconstruction, and a bus terminal is being considered for the area. Despite the loss of the building, the symbol of
Metro Cuatro Caminos
Cuatro Caminos (translated from Spanish the name literally means "Four Roads") is a station of the Mexico City metro network. Colloquially known as "Metro Toreo", it is the current north terminus of Line 2. The adjacent Mexipuerto Cementos Fort ...
will remain a depiction of the dome.
In addition to Ciudad Satélite and the Toreo, other attractions here include the Cerro Moctezuma, the Villa Alpina, the Conde y Tlatilco Pyramid, a Mexica shrine in the city center and the Museum of Naucalpan. Historic structures from the colonial period include the Caracoles, the Aqueduct, the Bridge of Santa Cruz, the arches of the Sanctuary of Los Remedos, the Parish of San Luis Tlatilco. In the city center is the Museum of the Tlatilca Culture.Arena Naucalpan is a major arena in Naucalpan, Estado de México. It's long been a home for lucha libre, and is currently the central arena of IWRG. The arena hosts a lucha libre show each Thursday and Sunday. The Naucalli Park occupies an area of forty three hectares and is a major natural area filled with trees and other vegetation. It also contains recreational and sporting facilities such as skating rinks, bike paths, playgrounds (''naucalli'') and the Casa de Cultura Naucalli. The Symphony Band of Naucalpan regularly plays here at its own concert hall.
The city hosts the campuses of a number of institutions of higher education. The Colegio de Ciencias y Humanidades Plantel Naucalpan is a technical college associated with UNAM. It was opened in 1971 as part of the decentralization of UNAM's activities. Most of the majors are related to science and technology. Other educational institutions which have facilities in Naucalpan include the Universidad Nuevo Mundo; Universidad de Norteamérica, the Colegio en Alta Dirreción Empresarial, and the Universidad del Valle de Mexico. The
Universidad Autónoma del Estado de México
Universidad (Spanish for "university") may refer to:
Places
* Universidad, San Juan, Puerto Rico
* Universidad (Madrid)
Football clubs
* Universidad SC, a Guatemalan football club that represents the Universidad de San Carlos de Guatemala
...
has plans to build a campus here in 2010 as part of its expansion efforts.
On Pafununcio Padilla there are two five-story buildings which are locally called "Los Esqueletos" or The Skeletons. These are two buildings which have been abandoned for thirty five years when their owner died
intestate
Intestacy is the condition of the estate of a person who dies without having in force a valid will or other binding declaration. Alternatively this may also apply where a will or declaration has been made, but only applies to part of the estat ...
during construction. Since then they have had problems with indigents and vandalism, causing fear in neighbors. By law, the buildings pass on to the owner's sons, but they have never done the paperwork to claim them.
The Virgin of Los Remedios
The patroness of the city and municipality of Naucalpan is the
Virgin of Los Remedios
The Virgin of Los Remedios ( es, La Virgen de los Remedios) or Our Lady of Los Remedios ( pt, Nossa Senhora dos Remédios, es, Nuestra Señora de los Remedios) is a title of the Virgin Mary developed by the Trinitarian Order, founded in the lat ...
. She is a small image of the Virgin Mary, measuring in height. This image is strongly linked with the Spanish Conquest, especially the episode known as the "Noche Triste" or Night of Sorrows. It is said he led his men to an indigenous religious sanctuary to escape the Aztecs, stopping here on their way to Otumba. According to legend, one of Cortés’ soldiers, Gonzalo Rodríguez de Villafuerte, was carrying a small image of the Virgin Mary and hid her under one of the
maguey Maguey may refer to various American plants:
* Genus '' Agave'', especially
** Species ''Agave americana'', the century plant
** Species ''Agave salmiana
''Agave salmiana'' (also known as ''maguey pulquero'' and green maguey) is a species of the ...
plants in order to retrieve and pay homage to her later if he survived. During a later battle in this area, the Spanish reported seeing a young girl throwing dirt into the eyes of the Aztecs to help the Spanish. Another legend states that this image appeared at the Cerro de los Pajaros, where a chapel was built in 1574, which later was expanded in 1628 with a vaulted roof and cupola. Being connected with the Conquest, this image of the Virgin is considered to be "Spanish" and a patroness to them and to the indigenous who adopt Spanish ways. She is considered one of the Virgins who correlate with the four cardinal directions (in her case, the west), along with the Virgins of Tepeyac, of Piedad and de la Bala.
Despite her importance to the area, this image was kept at the Mexico City Cathedral until 1810. In that year, she was moved to her sanctuary in Naucalpan, dressed as a general. She was proclaimed as a patroness of Spain and the "guardian of the Spanish Army." The purpose of this was to counter Miguel Hidalgo's use of the Virgin of Guadalupe as a symbol of his independence movement.
This image was center of one of the first annual processions to be held in Mexico, which went from the Church of Santa Veracruz in Mexico City to her home sanctuary in Naucalpan. Her feast day is still celebrated on September 1, On this day, the sanctuary is profusely decorated with white flowers, which includes a carpet of flower petals in the San Miguel Arcangel esplanade. This sanctuary is not located in the city proper, but in the mountainous western part of the municipality where the Los Remedios National Park stands. Her feast day is celebrated with dances knowns as "Los Apaches," "Los Moros," "Chichimecas" and "Pastorcitas," with 450th anniversary of her finding celebrated in 1990.
The municipality
The part of the city that lies within Naucalpan Municipality is nearly co-extensive with the municipality, with only the Los Remedios National Park and several ejidos remaining mostly unurbanized. The municipality consists of 233 neighborhoods in the city proper, 18 small villages, 71 residential developments and two rural housing developments. Together, these localities cover an extension of 149.86km2. The municipality is located in the Valley of Mexico, just northeast of Mexico City and northwest of Mexico State capital of Toluca. The municipality borders the municipalities of Atizapan de Zaragoza,
Tlalnepantla de Baz
Tlalnepantla de Baz is one of 125 municipalities of the state of Mexico, north of Mexico City. The municipal seat and largest city in the municipality is the city of Tlalnepantla. ''Tlalnepantla'' comes from the Náhuatl words ''tlalli'' (land) ...
Huixquilucan de Degollado
Huixquilucan Municipality is one of the municipalities in State of Mexico, Mexico. It lies adjacent to the west side of the Federal District (Distrito Federal) and is part of Greater Mexico City but independent of Mexico City itself. The name "H ...
,
Xonacatlán
Xonacatlán is one of 125 municipalities in Mexico State in Mexico. The municipality covers an area of 32.87 km².
As of 2005, the municipality had a total population of 45,274.
Colonia San Francisco Xonacatlán de Vicencio is located in t ...
and Lerma with the Mexico City Federal District to the east and southeast.
The highest peaks are the Organo and La Malinche mountains at
above sea level
Height above mean sea level is a measure of the vertical distance (height, elevation or altitude) of a location in reference to a historic mean sea level taken as a vertical datum. In geodesy, it is formalized as ''orthometric heights''.
The comb ...
. Other notable elevations include la Cantera, El Cedral, San Joselito, La Plantación and Peña del Rayo. The main rivers through the area include the Totolina, San Lorenzo and Los Remedios. Water supply for the municipality is supplemented by 28 deep wells, and an aqueduct that brings water from the
Lerma River
The Lerma River ( es, Río Lerma) is Mexico's second longest river. It is a river in west-central Mexico that begins in Mexican Plateau at an altitude over above sea level, and ends where it empties into Lake Chapala, Mexico's largest lake, nea ...
. It has a temperate climate with a rainy season in the summer and early fall. Freezing temperatures occur between November and February, but the last significant snowfall occurred in 1967. Vegetation outside the city proper consists of conifers and oaks, with orchards of fruit trees such as plums, apples and pears. Most wildlife consists of small mammals such as squirrels and opossums along with small reptiles and birds. However, deforestation is a major problem.
There are eight ejidos, five of which are dedicated to agriculture and the rest to other activities. Agricultural production includes animal feed, barley, beans, corn, wheat,
avocado
The avocado (''Persea americana'') is a medium-sized, evergreen tree in the laurel family (Lauraceae). It is native to the Americas and was first domesticated by Mesoamerican tribes more than 5,000 years ago. Then as now it was prized for i ...
s, peaches and cactus fruit. Livestock includes cattle, pigs, sheep and domestic fowl. There is also some trout farming. Building stone, sand and gravel are still mined here. However, the overwhelming majority of the municipality's economic activity is the industry and commerce in the city proper.
The major un-urbanized area of the municipality is the Los Remedios National Park, located in the far west. This park was established by decrees in 1938 by the
federal government
A federation (also known as a federal state) is a political entity characterized by a union of partially self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under a central federal government (federalism). In a federation, the self-governin ...
with an area of 400 hectares. Within its borders is the Sanctuary of the Virgin of Los Remedios, a colonial era aqueduct and a pre-Hispanic archeological zone with a Chichimeca temple. All of these are located in and around the mountain called Cerro Moctezuma. The site was an Aztec observatory and is also believed to be where Cortés and his men rested after fleeing Tenochtitlan.
The aqueduct is long and consists of fifty arches which measure high and extend into the ground. The first stage was built in 1616 under viceroy Diego Fernandez de Cordoba with the objective of bringing water to the Sanctuary of Los Remedios from a spring at the village of San Francisco Chimalpa. This water was also used to irrigate fields in the villages of San Bartolomé, Santa Maria Nativitas and Santa Cruz. The aqueduct is mostly of clay pipes with two large spiral towers to release air. These towers flank the Sanctuary of the Virgin of Los Remedios and are nicknamed "caracoles" (snails) By 1764, the amount of water this system delivered was no longer enough and viceroy
Joaquín de Monserrat
Joaquín or Joaquin is a male given name, the Spanish version of Joachim.
Given name
* Joaquín (footballer, born 1956), Spanish football midfielder
* Joaquín (footballer, born 1981), Spanish football winger
* Joaquín (footballer, born 1982) ...
had the arched system built, which was finished in 1765. Eventually, this system could not deliver water and became simply an architectural monument.
Seventy five percent of the original surface of the park now has illegal settlements, including settlements which have been authorized by local authorities. While these settlements can be confiscated and destroyed under federal law, this has not happened. The federal environmental agency Profepa has received complaints about the most recent invasions into the park area, which as felled dozens of trees. The agency has responded with inspections of plans by a developer to build two subdivisions near the colonial era aqueduct to verify if the land is private or public. One reason for this is that the park lacks conservation plans, fences and other means to fend off development efforts. The illegal settlements and development have also affected adjoining ejido land that adjoin the park. This and the fact that housing is now starting to encroach the archeological zone has prompted the involvement of INAH and the organization of neighboring communities to protest.
Towns and villages
The largest localities (cities, towns, and villages) are:
Economy
Naucalpan is one of the most powerful municipalities in the country; in the area next to Mexico City there's many little and medium-sized businesses; such as pharmaceutical labs, spare parts businesses and chemical products and textile manufacturing factories.
The commercial and services sector is important, in the last 40 years it's grown. Its thrive begun with the opening of the Plaza Satélite mall in 1971. In 2007 another mall was built: La Cúspide Sky Mall.
According to the Reyes-Barreto-Rodríguez (2007) study of the wealth distribution in the State of Mexico, Naucalpan de Juárez in the year 2000 generated enough wealth to cover the necessities of their citizens twice, in contrast to other municipalities that only create one third of the needs of their citizens in a year. Naucalpan and its neighbor Ecatepec host the 19% of the population of the State of Mexico and both produce a bit more than 22% of the income of the state.
Twin towns – sister cities
Climate
Subtropical highland variety of the oceanic climate exists in elevated portions of the world that are within either the tropics or subtropics, though it is typically found in mountainous locations in some tropical countries. The
Köppen Climate Classification
The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...
subtype for this climate is " Cwb" (oceanic subtropical highland climate).
Lomas Verdes
Lomas Verdes is an upper-middle-class neighborhood located in the north of Mexico City. The community was developed in the late 1960s and is near Ciudad Satélite (which was founded in 1957). Lomas Verdes means "Green Hills" in Spanish, as the te ...
)
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Greengates School
Greengates School ( es, Colegio Greengates) is a British-style international school located in the Balcones de San Mateo neighbourhood in Naucalpan, located north-west of Mexico City metropolitan area, in the State of Mexico. As of 2015, it ha ...
Irish Institute
The Irish Institute ( es, Instituto Irlandés) is a catholic private school in Greater Mexico City. Operated by the Legionaries of Christ,Berry, Jason and Gerald Renner. ''Vows of Silence: The Abuse of Power in the Papacy of John Paul II''. Simon ...
Justo Sierra
Justo Sierra Méndez (January 26, 1848 – September 13, 1912), was a Mexican prominent liberal writer, historian, journalist, poet and political figure during the Porfiriato, in the second half of the nineteenth century and early twentieth ...
National Autonomous University of Mexico
The National Autonomous University of Mexico ( es, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, UNAM) is a public research university in Mexico. It is consistently ranked as one of the best universities in Latin America, where it's also the bigges ...
* College of Science and Humanities Naucalpan campus (Colegio de Ciencias y Humanidades plantel Naucalpan)
National Autonomous University of Mexico
The National Autonomous University of Mexico ( es, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, UNAM) is a public research university in Mexico. It is consistently ranked as one of the best universities in Latin America, where it's also the bigges ...
See also
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Huixquilucan de Degollado
Huixquilucan Municipality is one of the municipalities in State of Mexico, Mexico. It lies adjacent to the west side of the Federal District (Distrito Federal) and is part of Greater Mexico City but independent of Mexico City itself. The name "H ...